Jesus and God
This treatise discusses the person of Jesus Christ, the historical man, according to Christian narrative as being the creator God incarnate. One might say that this symbolic understanding is the thrust behind the whole discussion, because these philosophical conundrums arise from this unique philosophical position. In The Freedom of the Will Erasmus explains what it might look like for Jesus to be the sole arbiter of human fate. The consideration is lofty and theologically complicated.
Theology as a feud or conversation
This incidental symbolism is important in understanding the scope of human theology. Because of the length and complexity of the Bible, theology becomes a conversation between points of view. Although each person has a sense for their theology in their mind, the game is to translate those beliefs into persuasive arguments using language; this proves to be a difficult task, and Luther and Erasmus show exactly what that task looks like, because this treatise is one node of an ongoing conversation between them about what they believe.
Free will
The question of free will is the central consideration of this essay, and it can be understood as hypothetical response to the question of fate. Sometimes, human life seems ordained or designed according to a narrative plot. The question, therefore, is whether humans have any say in their fate. Erasmus feels that God's sovereignty is shown in the macro-economies of creation, like the stars and the seasons, and that those patterns deeply shape human life, but that humans are essentially free. Luther's point of view is that God is crafting something out of human narratives, so that humans are essentially actors or puppets in a divine plot.
Evil and the theodicy
These philosophical considerations take the reader to a related issue when Erasmus discusses evil. Here, he invokes a philosophical motif called "theodicy," which is a response to human evil and suffering. How could a good, all-powerful God allow evil and suffering to exist if those are not part of his original plan? The question is whether God planned for evil and suffering, or if he is merely problem-solving. Erasmus's take here is that humans invented evil through their free will.
Grace as a save-all
The idea of human power falls short of divine grace, says Erasmus. The idea of grace is shown to be a philosophical response to suffering, because if grace overwhelms all human sin or suffering, then it could be seen as an epic fire-extinguisher with a broad enough scope to put out all the fires of human invention. Erasmus says that understanding God's graceful nature is a key element of growing to love God. This is a pillar of theology of this kind, that God must be gracious if humans are to be saved from their destructive ways.
